Egypt were taken to extra time but ultimately prevailed over a plucky Benin 3-1 in the round of 16 in the Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco on Monday.
On Saturday, Egypt will face the winner of the match between defending champions Ivory Coast and Burkina Faso in the quarter-finals. The two were meeting on Tuesday after Al-Ahram Weekly went to press.
Against Benin at Le Grand Stade Agadir, Egypt dominated from the start but surprisingly had to wait until the 69th minute before Marwan Attia finally made the breakthrough. Mohamed Hani pulled the ball back behind the penalty area and Attia rifled a curling shot into the top right corner of goalkeeper Marcel Dandjinou.
It looked like it was over for Benin but not quite. In the 83rd minute Egypt’s goalkeeper Mohamed Al-Shinnawi gave the ball away with a wayward kick. The ball was crossed but was deflected by Ahmed Fattouh and pounced on by substitute Jodel Dossou as Al-Shinnawi tried in vain to palm it away.
In the seventh minute of extra time, central defender Yasser Ibrahim’s looping header sent the ball to the top right corner despite a flying attempt by Dandjinou for what would prove the winning goal.
The insurance goal came just as the curtains were about to fall from Egypt’s skipper and Liverpool star Mohamed Salah, shooting past Dandjinou who was way off his goal from outside the penalty box after Ahmed Zizo had played him through. It was Salah’s third goal of the tournament and 10th Africa Cup of Nations goal overall.
On paper this was supposed to be no contest. Benin’s 1-0 victory over Botswana in the group stage marked their first-ever win in the competition since their debut in 2004.
The country has competed in the tournament five times, with a record of one win, five draws, and 11 losses across 17 matches. According to Opta, they are the team that has played the most matches without ever winning in the competition.
The Cheetahs qualified as one of the best third-placed teams in this tournament, finishing third in Group D with three points. They defeated Botswana (1-0) but fell to DR Congo (1-0) and Senegal (3-0).
Meantime, the Pharaohs finished top of Group B with seven points, becoming the first team to qualify for the knockout stage, after securing victories over Zimbabwe (2-1) and South Africa (1-0), along with a draw against Angola (0-0).
To drive the point home, in the history of their meetings, Benin have never managed to defeat Egypt. Before Monday there had been three victories for Egypt and one 3-3 draw in June 2004 (coincidentally, Benin’s best performance at the Africa Cup of Nations up until Monday came in 2019 in Cairo where they reached the quarter-finals before losing 1-0 to future runners-up Senegal).
Benin’s only semi-advantage over Egypt was that some of their players are acquainted with Egyptian football. Three of their players have experience in the Egyptian league, including Smouha defensive midfielder Samadou Attidjikou, along with Dodo Dokou and Hassane Imourane, who both previously played for Smouha and Modern FC before leaving Egypt.
That was the only edge that Benin had over Egypt. With a record seven AFCON titles, the Pharaohs arrived in Morocco with unmatched experience and the opportunity to win a record number eight. Cameroon have won five titles, making them the second most successful team in the tournament’s history.
Only Egypt have won the title three times in succession. That unprecedented run was achieved between 2006 and 2010. Their triumphs came across three different host nations — Egypt (2006), Ghana (2008) and Angola (2010) — underlining a dominance that travelled well beyond home advantage.
Given the past and present situation of superiority, Egypt were in danger of being complacent against Benin and at times it showed.
There was also the question of how sharp Egypt would be given they had a one-week rest after the group stage. The seven-day pause allowed several players to recover from minor injuries but the break is considered long in a tournament which is 29 days.
Even though they made it to the quarter-finals, Egypt also rode their luck at times. In the group stage, the winning goal against Zimbabwe came in added time. Against South Africa, not every referee would have given Salah a penalty after a defender’s flailing hand struck him on the face in the box.
And many referees would have given South Africa a penalty for a handball by defender Ibrahim.
Despite their long and successful history with AFCON, the Pharaohs have not won the African cup since 2010. In fact, after they won an unprecedented three in a row, they failed to qualify for three in a row. Salah — one of the greatest African and English Premier League players of all time —has never won the AFCON after finishing as a runner-up at the 2017 and 2021 editions.
This tournament, Egypt have gone farther than the last one. In January 2024 Congo DR claimed an epic 8-7 victory over Egypt following a tense 1-1 draw in their Africa Cup of Nations last-16 clash.
After that debacle, Hossam Hassan was appointed in February 2024. On Monday he told a post-match press conference that he was ready for anything. “We will start preparations for the quarter-finals and we are ready to face any opponent,” Hassan said.
“There are no easy teams in Africa. Playing in Europe has improved the African players, making every game challenging. In football, you can’t rely on history; only performance matters,” Hassan added.
As of writing, in the quarter-finals, Mali will play Senegal on Friday 9 January in Tangiers and hosts Morocco will meet Cameroon on the same day at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium in Rabat.
* A version of this article appears in print in the 8 January, 2026 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly
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